Perhaps this excerpt from the recent text 'On Misanthropy' (2006) by
Alexander R. Galloway & Eugene Thacker can go somewhat towards Agnieszka's
inquiry.
Joasia
--
[...]
The act of curating not only refers to the selection, exhibition, and
storage of artifacts, but it also means doing so with care, with particular
attention to their presentation in an exhibit or catalogue. Both Œcurate¹
and Œcurator¹ derive from the Latin curare (to care), a word which is itself
closely related to cura (cure). Curate, care, cure. At first glance the act
of curating a museum exhibit seems far from the practice of medicine and
health care. One deals with culture and history, the other with science and
Œvital statistics¹. One is the management of Œart¹, the other the management
of Œlife¹. But with the act of curating an exhibit of viruses or epidemics
one is forced to Œcare¹ for the most misanthropic agents of infection and
disease. One must curate that which eludes the cure. Such is the impasse:
the best curator would therefore need to be the one who is most Œcareless¹.
[...]
Today¹s informatic culture has nevertheless brought together curating and
curing in unexpected ways, linked by this notion of curare. The very concept
of Œhealth care¹, for instance, has always been bound up with a relation to
information, statistics, databases, and numbers (numbers of births, deaths,
illnesses, and so forth). Indeed political economy during the era of
Ricardo, Smith, and Malthus implied a direct correlation between the health
of the population and the wealth of the nation. Yet public health has also
changed a great deal, in part due to advances in technology within the
health care industry. There is now talk of Œtelemedicine¹, Œinfomedicine¹,
and Œhome-care¹. At the most abstract level, one witnesses information
networks at play in medical surveillance systems, in which the real-time
monitoring of potential public health hazards (be they naturally occurring
or the result of an attack) is made possible in a Œwar-room¹ scenario.
In these visions of health care - in which the law of large numbers is the
content and network topology is the form - there are also many questions
raised. Sociologist Michael Fortun (2005), in his study of population genome
projects, wonders if we have moved from classical medicine¹s care of the
body of the patient (what Foucault referred to as a Œcare of the self¹) to a
more post-Fordist Œcare of the data¹, in which the job of public health is
increasingly to ensure that the biological bodies of the population
correlate to the informatic patterns on the screen.
[...]
Excerpt from:
'On Misanthropy' (2006) Alexander R. Galloway & Eugene Thacker in Joasia
Krysa (ed.) Curating Immateriality: The Work of the Curator in the Age of
Network Systems, DATA Browser vol 3, New York: Autonomedia.
on 24/5/06 20:47, Sarah Cook at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> we've spent some time discussing the term new media art, and timelines
> and such... how about the term curator - is there a timeline of the
> changes in definition of that?
> -sarah
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Agnieszka Okrzeja <[log in to unmask]>
>> Date: 23 May 2006 8:14:13 pm BST
>>
>> Dear Curator
>>
>> If it is possible, please take part in my work.
>> Your answer will be to my extremly valuable, because You are authority
>> on this field.
>>
>>> Independent theoretical curators project
>>>
>>> · The aim of this project is to create a vision of a
>>> contemporary art
>>> curator, from definitions all over the world.
>>> · With great respect I turn to You to rise voice and participate
>>> in my
>>> theoretical project concerning of definition contemporary art curator.
>>> · I am student of fifth's year on specialization Theory and
>>> Promotion of
>>> Art, on Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan (Poland); www.asp.poznan.pl
>>> · Right now,I am working at my graduate work on subject of curator
>>> etymology and contemporary curators practice.
>>> · My aim is creation of theoretical work, which will bring closer
>>> co-ordinate reflections over wide understood importance of curator.
>>> · I turn to You with request of answering in few words on
>>> question:
>>> Who is contemporary curator? I request about your author's definition.
>>> · If You accept my request of answering on my question, please
>>> signature
>>> it with Your name and occupation, and send back to me on
>>> adress: [log in to unmask]
>>> · All doubts I will answer willingly.
>>> · If You know other curators who can help me with my researches,
>>> send this e-mail to her or him.
>>
>>
>> Yours sincerly
>> Agnieszka M. Okrzeja
>>
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